Rita Dianne Johnson

Rita Dianne Johnson, 75, passed away in her sleep to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on November 22 at Community Hospice in Jacksonville, Florida.

She was born with assistance from a midwife on April 26, 1948, in a gristmill which served as her family home, in Gibson Station, Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains.  Her parents were Ernest and Viola (Hurst) Pursifull, who are buried in Middlesboro, Kentucky.

Rita was a coalminer’s daughter until the age of four when her family migrated to Hamilton, Ohio so her father could take an assembly job at Fisher Body, which stamped parts to General Motors vehicles.

Rita attended elementary schools in Hamilton, Somerville, and Oxford, and in 1966 graduated from Talawanda High School in Oxford, Ohio.  As a young woman, she worked as a legal secretary.

On March 7, 1981, she married David A. Johnson, of Hamilton, at Richmond Road Baptist Church, in Hamilton.

Rita leaves behind her husband, David A. or “D.J.,”;  daughter Myra Willwerth (Jon) of Jacksonville; a son Derek, and friend Abbie Kennedy of Las Vegas; and a stepson, David Michael Johnson (Heather Downs), also of Jacksonville, plus many friends from church.

She was kind.  She was patient.  She did not judge. She was approachable, and easy to talk to.  With these important attributes of Christ, Rita made friends easily.   Even while in the throes of pain at the end of her life, she spoke kind words to her caregivers.

She was a loving mother and stepmom who practiced the wisdom of Solomon, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6).  In Rita’s world, that meant giving her children a lot of leeway to grow into adults.  She let them make their own mistakes and own the lessons from those mistakes.  They discovered their own paths in life and own them too.

She treated her stepson, David Michael, as equal to her biological children and would make picnic lunches for eating in the woods on Sundays when he visited.

In the summer, when they were little, she would stay up late with them doing puzzles, or playing board or computer games.

She was a skilled seamstress, sewing and repairing Myra’s clothes or the clothing of Myra’s friends.  She made all the bridesmaids dresses for a friend’s wedding.

When she could still hike, she enjoyed walking in parks with her family.

She also loved shopping, with friends at the mall, or at flea markets or yard sales.  When she could no longer shop in person, due to disability, she moved that hobby to online.

She made a spectacular banana pudding, which was requested often by relatives.

After she and Dave moved to Jacksonville in the Spring of 2022, Rita fell in love with lakes and the ocean -  a stark contrast, having been born a mountain girl.   The waves, sand, birds, flowers, and even the alligators in Florida enjoyed her admiration.

She also developed an interest in “pour painting,” a detailed but relaxing way to create unique designs on canvas.

A memorial service is being planned for  the Spring of 2024 at Huguenot Memorial Park, where she and Dave would drive and enjoy the seashore.  Her ashes will be spread via biodegradable Eco Sphere, in the water.